Master of Science in Meteorology

Atmospheric science is focused on understanding Earth's gaseous envelope, predicting its evolution and mitigating human impacts. The M.S. program at Florida Tech is uniquely interdisciplinary, drawing on expertise from the College of Aeronautics, the College of Engineering and the College of Science. As such, the M.S. in meteorology can have special emphasis in areas such as marine meteorology, water resources, atmospheric chemistry, aviation meteorology or remote sensing. Collaborative research is conducted with specialists from the nearby NASA Kennedy Space Center, the USAF 45th Weather Squadron, the NOAA National Weather Service, the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Wind and Hurricane Impacts Research Laboratory (WHIRL) and local government agencies or corporations.

Admission Requirements

A student applying for admission to the graduate meteorology program should have an undergraduate major in the physical sciences or engineering. Preparatory coursework may need to be completed before starting the master of science program, and completion of such courses may require additional time. Any such requirements will be determined by the program chair and graduate faculty before admission. The prospective student will be advised of these requirements before acceptance. Applicants must submit GRE General Test Scores for evaluation.

Degree Requirements

The M.S. degree requires satisfactory completion of 30 credit hours of required and elective courses including thesis, based on an approved plan developed in conjunction with the faculty advisor. A nonthesis option is also available, where in lieu of a thesis the student completes an additional nine credit hours of coursework (for a total of 33 credit hours) and must pass a written master's final program examination. Students with bachelor's degrees in meteorology normally take the core courses plus electives emphasizing their areas of special interest. Students with bachelor's degrees in fields other than meteorology are required to complete the core and other graduate courses in addition to appropriate courses necessary for certification as a professional meteorologist by the American Meteorological Society (see undergraduate curriculum). Students are required to attend the graduate seminar. A student registers for graduate seminar each semester and makes an oral presentation of research results after completing thesis research.

Required Courses

CREDITS

ENS 5000

Environmental Sciences Seminar (each semester)

0

MET 5001

Principles of Atmospheric Science

3

MET 5233

Atmospheric Remote Sensing

3

MET 5305

Dynamic Meteorology 1

3

MET 5306

Dynamic Meteorology 2

3

Electives

CREDITS

AVS 5201

Aviation Meteorology Theory and Practice

3

ENS 4001

The Earth System

3

ENS 4010

Geographic Information Systems

3

ENS 5001

Global Environmental Problems and Solutions

3

ENS 5101

Introduction to Air Pollution

3

ENS 5700

Introduction to Water Resources

3

ENS 5800

Limnology

3

MET 4310

Climatology

3

MET 4410

Mesoscale Meteorology

3

MET 5310

Numerical Weather Prediction

3

OCE 5570

Marine Hydrodynamics and Wave Theory

3

OCE 5586

Ocean Engineering Data Analysis

3

OCN 5001

Principles of Oceanography

3

OCN 5210

Marine and Environmental Chemistry

3

OCN 5401

Principles of Physical Oceanography

3

OCN 5403

Ocean Wave Theory

3

OCN 5405

Dynamic Oceanography

3

OCN 5407

Marine Meteorology

3

OCN 5409

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

3

OCN 5704

Oceanic Remote Sensing

3

PHY 5080

Thermodynamics

3

SPS 4030

Physics of the Atmosphere

3

SPS 5031

Planetary Science 2: Atmospheres

3

Note: Electives listed above are accepted in the M.S. Meteorology degree program, but no more than six credit hours of 4000-level courses from the department (ENS, MET, OCE, OCN) may be used for the master’s degree.

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